Movies: Out Of The Furnace

(Drivebycuriosity) - The USA has many facets. The movie "Out Of The Furnace" takes a look on the very low life in the northeast of the country (imdb).  The film focuses on some rednecks, who live in their own world. Some are intoxicated by booze, drugs and violence. Some have luck and work in a steel mill and hunt deers in their leisure time, others try to earn money with illegal fist fights. Some worship brute force. "Furnace" shows a man`s world: Full of violence, brutality and mayhem.

Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi found fitting images and used often  rusty colors to underline the rotten ambient of the story.  The soundtrack by Dickon Hinchliffe (founder member of the band Tindersticks) supports the grisly message.

The film`s greatest asset is the impressive cast: I guess Woody Harrelson, who self-identifies as an anarchist and had been several times arrested (wikipedia),  had much fun with his role as a sadistic and perma-stoned über-macho. His character is more an animal than a human being. You could accuse him of overacting, but his vexing performance is memorable anyway. William Dafoe, Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard and other highly talented actors also deliver impressive performances. 

"Out Of The Furnace" is a challenging movie thanks to the frequent violent scenes, but cast, cinematography and soundtrack give the movie enough quality that it is interesting for fans of the genre.